Christmas Full Moon: Bright Ornament in the Sky

This image was composed from a series of images taken Oct. 12, 2015, when Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter was about 83 miles (134 kilometers) above the moon's far side crater Compton. (PHOTO: NASA/Goddard/Arizona State University)

By Sara Hammond, Arizona Science DeskListen:

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It’s been 38 years since a full moon appeared on Christmas. While it has no particular scientific significance, it can offer a focus for reflection.

The moon’s phase will peak at 4:11 on Christmas morning when the Earth’s satellite is exactly opposite the Sun.

For professional sky watcher Adam Block of the University of Arizona’s Mount Lemmon SkyCenter, the event offers a chance to reflect on the moon.

“Having the full moon in the sky on a holiday is kind of like an ornament to see above the horizon. It only adds to the specialness of the day. I think that’s what people are attracted by when they see the full moon," Block said.

“What I look at when I see a full moon on a particular date, I think about the cycles of nature and how there are patterns that you can see in nature and the appreciation of those patterns – having a full moon every month but not having it on the same day every month. It shifts because of the moon’s motion around the Earth through time,” he said.

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